Automatic or manually actuated hydraulic jack



March 27, 1951 w, TUCKER 2,546,203

AUTOMATIC OR MANUALLY ACTUATED HYDRAULIC JACK Filed Nov. 50, 1946 3Sheets-Sheet l W0 oazo w 6. Tu: KR

INVENTOR.

March 27, 1951 W. G. TUCKER AUTOMATIC OR MANUALLY ACTUATED HYDRAULICJACK 5 Sheets-$heet 2 Filed N0. 120, 1946 We 01 R a: W (52 Tu: $151KMarch 27, 1951 w, 5, TUCKER 2,546,203

AUTOMATIC 0R MANUALLY ACTUATED HYDRAULIC JACK Filed Nov. 5Q, 1946 '3Sheets-Sheet 5 Waoaeow Gave/ 52.

5% 5, INVENTOR.

bolts indicated at 2. bracket I by means of a pin or bolt 3 is a con-Patented Mar. 27, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC R MANUALLYAQTUA'EED HYDRAULIC JACK Woodrow G. Tucker, Stanfield, Oreg. App c tNovember :9 6; S ria 13549;

2, Claims. 1

This invention rel-ates to improvements in pressure actuated liftingjacks of the hydraulic type.

One of the principal objects of the invention is; the provision of ajack ofthis character which 15 readily adaptable, to theaxles of avehicle and whichmaybe used individually or in multiple to elevate one:ormore of the wheels of thevehicle from the ground by a simple valvemechanism located on the interior of the vehicle. within con.- venientreach of the operator. I

Another object is the provision of a, device of this kind which isofcompact, durable construce tion and which when collapsed into aninoperative position offers no air resistance or drag to the vehiclewhen in motion.

These and other objects will appear as my invention is more fullyhereinafter described in the following specification, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a jack made in accordance with myinvention and with parts broken away and in section for convenience ofillustration.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1 with fragments also broken away.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the jack in an operativeor lifting position.

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the device in movement between aninoperative and operative position.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic layout of the source of pressure, pipe linesand control valve for directing pressure to points of ap lication.

.Referring now more particularly to the drawings.

In Figures 1 to 4, reference numeral I indicates a sup orting bracketsecured to the front and to the rear axles of a vehicle near theiropposite ends by any suitable means, such as c amps or U swingablymounted to the necting rod 4, to one end of which is secured a piston 5which operates within a positioning cylinder 6. The head of the cylinderis formed into a hollow shaft I for rotatable attachment to the head 8of a lifting cylinder 9 which is also swingably mounted to the bracket Iby means of a hinge pin or bolt I9, extending outwardly therefrom. Fromthe foregoing it will be seen that movement of the positioning cylinder6 to the right, as viewed in Figures 2 and 3 will force the liftingcylinder 9 to move downwardly into a ver- 2 tical position as shown inFigure 3. Slidably mounted within the. cylinder 9 is a lifting jackconsisting of a piston I;l having a connecting rod I2 terminating in aspherical end I3 to, which is attached for universal movement, a footplate; [4.

The shaft I is bored as at I5 and isv in open communication at one ofits ends, by means of a duct I6, with the interior of the cylinder 6 asshown, Fluid under pressure is directed to the interior of the hollowshaft 1 by means of a tube or pipe I! connected with a fluid pressure,pump to be hereinafter more fully described. Between the ends of thebore in the shaft 1 I form a port 8 and in spaced relation tov the portI form a slot or vein I9. The head 8, of the cylinder 9v is formed withntake ct 2' a a te f pen om munication through a check valve 2| with theport I8 the hollow shaft when the cylinder 9 has been swung downwardlythrough degrees by means of the cylinder 6. An exhaust port 22 s a soform d n the ylind head 8 and s. i communication with the vein I9through a, check val 3:-

When fluid pressure from the tube II' enters the bore I5 in the shaft Iit is directed through the duct, I6 against the piston 5 which, ofcourse, forces the cylinder 6 to move outwardly or toy the right asaforesaid. This movement forces the cylinder 9 to move downwardly intothe position shown in Figure 3, whereat the duct 20 comes intocommunication with the port I8, whereupon the fluid pressure is thenapplied to the piston I I in the cylinder 9 to force the jack downwardlyinto contact with the ground or surface beneath the vehicle. This causesa resultant upward movement of the cylinder 9 which through the mediumof the bolt III, bracket I, and axle, elevates the wheel from theground. Meanwhile, of course, the exhaust port or duct 22 is held closedby the check valve 23 to prevent the pressure from backing up throughthe vein I9 into the hollow shaft I. Both cylinders 6 and 9 are at alltimes filled with fluid and as their respective pistons move towardtheir ends the fluid in advance of the piston flows through a duct 24 inthe cylinder 9 into a return tube 25, and from the end of the cylinder 6into a return tube 26. Both of said tubes terminate in opencommunication with any suitable form of T connection, or the like, asindicated at 21 (see Figure 5) for returning the fluid through a singletube 28 to the control valve, generally indicated at 29 in Figure 5, andwhich consists of a housing 39 and a core 3| rotatable therein by meansof an actuating handle 32. The valve may be of any approved type fordirecting fluid pressure from any suitable pressure pump 33 throughpressure pipe H to the interior of the hollow shaft 1, and by anothersetting for returning the fluid from the ducts 24 and 26, as aforesaid,from the cylinders 9 and 6, respectively, into a fluid supply tank 3%which by a return line 35 is connected with the intake side of the pump33.

When the valve is moved into down position the weight of the vehiclecauses the lifting cylinder to move downwardly with respect to thelift-,

ing jack. This of course forces the fluid previ ously applied to thepiston II to exhaust through the duct 22 into the vein l9 throughout theentire upward swing of the cylinder 9 and into the hollow shaft 1,thence through the tube l1 and back into the supply tank 34. At thissame time the flow of the fluid through the tubes 25 and 26 is reversedto replace the fluid back of the pistons in the cylinders 6 and 9.

The reverse flow of the fluid from the interior of both cylinders outthrough the tube H causes the cylinders to resume their retractedhorizontal starting positions as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

The foot plate M is connected to the end of the connecting rod [2 foruniversal movement so that it will readily accommodate or adapt itselfto any irregular ground surface or roadway it contacts for the liftingoperation.

Although I have shown and described the invention as applied to vehiclesit is to be understood that such use does not necessarily perscribe itslimit of utility, since obviously the invention could be successfullyapplied to other operations requiring forces to be automatically andprogressively applied in angular relation to each other. v While I haveshown a particular form of embodiment of my invention, I am aware thatmany minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to othersskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Having thus described the invention. what I claim as new anddesire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A lifting jack for vehicles comprising a positioning cylinderpivotally and slidably mounted with respect to an axle of the vehicle, alifting cylinder mounted with respect to said axle for movement intovertical and horizontal positions by pivotal attachment at one of itsends to said positioning cylinder, a piston slidably mounted in thelifting cylinder, a shaft attached at one of its ends to the piston andits opposite end extending outwardly from the end of the liftingcylinder, valve means formed within the pivotal connection between saidcylinders for progressively directing pressure into the positioningcylinder for moving said lifting cylinder from a horizontal to avertical position and to the piston therein for forcing said shaftdownwardly against a surface beneath the vehicle to force said liftingcylinder and said axle upwardly with respect to said surface.

2. A lifting jack for vehicle comprising a pair of cylinders pivotallyattached to each other and to an axle of the vehicle, valve means formedwithin the pivotal connection between the cylinders and operable byswinging movement of the cylinders with respect to each other fordirecting pressure to one of said cylinders for moving it longitudinallywith respect to the axle and through its pivotal connection with theother cylinder for moving the same into a vertical position with respectto the axle, and means movable within and extending outwardly from saidlast mentioned cylinder for contacting the surface beneath the vehicleto resist said pressure to cause a resultant upward movement of said cylinder and the axle to which it is attached.

WOODROW G. TUCKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,613,268 Eisler Jan. 4, 1927FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 57,654 Norway June 7, 1937

